Learn top ideation techniques and how to apply them as part of the Design Thinking process
Ideation plays a key role in Design Thinking. It supports problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and innovation through group techniques such as brainstorming and mind mapping which enable fast idea generation, development, and selection.
But how does ideation in the Design Thinking process work and where do you start? In this article, we walk you through everything you need to know about this valuable methodology, from defining the process and popular techniques, to outlining the steps you need to take to implement it successfully.
Here’s what this article will cover:
- What is Ideation?
- The Value of Ideation in Design Thinking
- Common Ideation techniques
- How to run the Ideation phase of the Design Thinking Process
- Ideation session best practices
- FAQs
Ready to learn all there is to know about ideation and how it can help you generate and develop ideas and solutions? Then, let’s dive in.
What is ideation?
Ideation is a crucial step in critical thinking and problem-solving. The process involves generating, developing, and sharing new ideas and is often part of a brainstorming or mind-mapping session in which the team’s goal is to spark creative ideas and uncover innovative solutions.
Key elements of ideation include:
- Generating ideas via brainstorming or mind mapping sessions. The focus here is on producing as many ideas as possible without assessing them yet for their feasibility.
- Developing ideas through the expansion or refinement of some concepts and the combination of others.
- Communicating ideas through sketches, presentations, and even prototypes.
- Identifying the ideas with the most potential based on possible impact, feasibilivty, and alignment with business goals.
- Selecting the chosen idea or ideas to be developed further to bring about real change and tangible outcomes.
The value of ideation in Design Thinking
Ideation in Design Thinking enables teams to generate a wider array of potential solutions to a challenge by helping individuals and groups break out of conventional ways of thinking. This is because divergent thinking fosters creative, innovative, and collaborative approaches which frequently lead to more user-centered, relevant solutions. By producing ideas in this way and exploring a broad spectrum of perspectives, teams can reduce the risk of product or design failure and create a strong foundation for the next phases of the design process, namely prototyping, and testing. Ultimately, teams that incorporate ideation techniques such as brainstorming, mind mapping, and reverse thinking into their design process can overcome challenges and address the real needs of users more effectively.
Common ideation techniques
Let’s run through some popular ideation techniques that you can experiment with to solve a problem or spark inspiration.
1. Brainstorming
Adopted within a wide range of contexts, from business development to education, brainstorming is a creative and lively group activity that aims to produce a large number of different ideas to solve a specific problem. During a brainstorming session, participants are encouraged to think “outside the box” and share their ideas verbally with the group, with the team leader or facilitator writing them down. Quantity over quality is prioritized in a brainstorming session, with participants feeling free to collaborate and build on each others’ ideas in order to generate as many solutions as possible. Judgment or evaluation of ideas is deferred until a later stage. This is so that participants feel free to share their wildest and least conventional ideas without fear of criticism. For inspiration, check out this student project by AND Academy learner Aromal Jose Baby, showcasing a UI UX case study in practice.
2. Mind mapping
While brainstorming typically happens verbally when conducted in groups, mind mapping is a technique adopted by individuals and teams to categorize and display information and ideas visually. A mind map consists of a diagram in the center of the page that represents the main idea, with any subtopics connected by so-called “branches” that stand for specific, but related, concepts. Within the branches, keywords or phrases might be placed to summarize the main points of the subtopic. In terms of its structure, a mind map has general concepts close to the center and more detailed or developed ideas further out. The main benefit of using mind mapping during ideation is that it allows teams to explore the connections between ideas that may not be immediately obvious. This generally sparks new, previously unthought-of, ideas that can help solve the problem posed.
3. Reverse thinking
Reverse thinking is a popular ideation and problem-solving methodology that asks group participants to approach the problem from unconventional perspectives. For example, instead of the team trying to think of solutions to a problem, they are asked to consider how to achieve the very opposite or how to create the problem itself. Once a list has been drawn up, the ideas should be reversed by the team members to find potential solutions to the original problem, with innovative solutions frequently arising. A benefit of adopting this ideation technique is that it helps to highlight previously hidden issues while encouraging creativity and helping to overcome mental blocks.
An example of reverse thinking would be:
Original problem: How can we get more subscribers to our newsletter?
Reversed: How can we get people to unsubscribe from our newsletter?
The team then tries to think of ways to get people to unsubscribe from the newsletter. Once they have a list of solutions to the reversed problem, they then reverse these ideas (try to imagine their opposites) to see what innovative solutions to the original problem might arise.
4. Six Thinking Hats
“Six Thinking Hats” is an ideation process that aims to optimize and improve group decision-making by encouraging participants to regard a challenge from a variety of perspectives. Each hat in the process stands for a thinking style, for example, the white hat represents “facts and information” while the yellow hat represents “optimism and benefits”. This approach ensures that the problem or situation is considered from a range of angles which results in more rounded and well-balanced decision making.
5. Worst Possible Idea
Another popular ideation methodology commonly adopted in the Design Thinking process is the “Worst Possible Idea”. Participants of a brainstorming group are invited to deliberately come up with the worst, most impractical, or absurd ideas for solving the issue at hand. The premise of this approach is that by considering worst-case scenarios, participants can free themselves from more conventional or routine patterns of thinking and uncover insights or solutions that would otherwise be unlikely to come up with via traditional brainstorming or ideation methods.
How to run the ideation phase of the Design Thinking process
Are you ready to run your first ideation session as part of the Design Thinking process?
Identify and define the challenge
Your first step when conducting the ideation phase of the Design Thinking process is to articulate the problem that needs solving or the challenge that you’d like to address. This involves clarifying with all project team members the size and scope of the issue and any relevant context that will support their understanding or improve their problem-solving. An effective way to communicate the issue you’re hoping to solve is to write or present a problem statement that outlines the gap between the problem and the goal. Any additional research such as background information or relevant data will also be useful at this stage for setting the scene and ensuring the whole team is fully aligned with the challenge ahead.
Choose a location
Your ideation session should take place in a distraction-free environment that facilitates creativity and free thinking. You’ll want to ensure the space is comfortable yet spacious enough for participants to move freely and collaborate in groups. In addition to finding the right place to conduct your ideation session, you’ll need to have the right tools at hand. This includes whiteboards, sticky notes, and marker pens. Finally, make sure the team has access to healthy snacks, water, and coffee so they stay focused and hydrated.
Decide on time limits
To keep the team focused on solving the problem and using their time wisely, be clear on when the ideation session will start and end, including breaks, as this will help you manage expectations and momentum. Before you begin, communicate a timetable of events so that participants know what is happening and when, and utilize a timer or facilitator who will keep track of time throughout.
Choose your ideation technique
As we’ve seen, there are a few different techniques that can support the Design Thinking process during the ideation phase. However, it would be unwise to utilize them all in one session as this will exhaust your participants and make the session less focused. Decide instead on one or two techniques that appeal to your team’s dynamic and working style as well as suit the problem you are trying to solve. When you’ve chosen some suitable methodologies, communicate how they work ahead of time to the team via email so everybody has the chance to read up on what will be expected of them on the day.
Rate the ideas
When the ideation part of the session has been completed, you should have a wide range of potential solutions from your team. Using a rating system, such as scoring or voting, the team will need to assess their viability. A good way to do this is to run through the strengths and weaknesses of each idea before putting it up for a vote. Keep a log of the results of this phase on a whiteboard or large piece of paper so that everybody has a reference point for future discussion and decision-making.
Select the best idea(s)
Now’s the moment to choose the best idea or ideas for solving the problem. There may be some disagreement among team members about which idea to select and this is where the rating system from the previous phase will help. Where disagreement occurs, encourage a discussion between participants. This may lead to a combination of ideas that create an ultimately more robust solution.
Define next steps
With your best idea or ideas selected, you’ll need to outline actionable next steps for the team to follow to move forward with solution implementation. It’s a good idea to assign specific responsibilities or activities to different participants, aligning with their current job roles, to ensure accountability and steady progress. The next phases of the Design Thinking process will be prototyping, testing, and refining the idea, so the activities you assign should be based on these stages. Be sure to clearly communicate the plan going forward so everybody knows what is expected of them. After the session, send an email summarizing the results of the ideation phase and reiterating the responsibilities of each member.
Ideation session best practices
What best practices should you follow when running an ideation session? Keep reading to find out.
Use a skilled facilitator
A facilitator is a professional who is highly skilled in guiding an ideation session, keeping everybody engaged, and ensuring the process stays on track. This individual is responsible for mediating any conflicts, keeping the energy levels high, managing the time, and securing the outcome the team needs. Wherever possible, it’s always a good idea to employ a trained facilitator to run your ideation session as their experience and impartiality can significantly boost the overall quality, productivity, and output of the session.
Don’t reject anything
While it can be tempting to reject any ideas that seem unrealistic or even bizarre, it’s important to cultivate an atmosphere in which all ideas are listened to and welcomed, no matter how unconventional they may seem. When all ideas are heard and encouraged, creativity is fostered, participants feel more confident in airing their views, and innovative solutions that might otherwise be overlooked are more likely to be uncovered.
Stay focused
It can be tough to stay focused in an ideation session and participants can frequently veer off-topic. It’s important therefore to keep reminding participants of the overall aims of the session and to stick to the agreed-upon timetable in order to keep discussions aligned with the team’s goals and relevant to the problem being solved.
Make notes as you go along
Using the whiteboard, sticky notes, and digital recording equipment make sure you document everything that the team comes up with during the ideation session. This record of the session can prove to be useful during later stages of the design process and ensures that no ideas are ever lost.
FAQs About Ideation in Design Thinking
Let’s take a look at some commonly asked questions about the ideation step of the design thinking process.
What are the 3 stages of ideation?
Ideation is the process undertaken by teams or individuals during which they seek to solve a problem through the generation, development, and communication of different ideas. Ideation itself is typically broken down into three stages: generation, selection, and development.
What is the 6 3 5 ideation method?
The 6-3-5 ideation method involves a group of six participants who are each asked to write down three ideas to solve the problem at hand within five minutes. When the five minutes are up, the participants pass their ideas to the next person who then has five minutes to generate three more ideas, inspired by the ideas set before them. By the end of the session, the group has 108 potential solutions to the problem.
What are the methods of ideation?
As we have seen, there are numerous methods of ideation that a group can adopt when looking to solve a problem, address a challenge, or find inspiration. Popular ideation methods include brainstorming, mind mapping, reverse thinking, six thinking hats, worst possible idea, storyboarding, round robin, cheatstorm, brainwriting, and SCAMPER.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve run through different ideation techniques and how to conduct an ideation session as part of the Design Thinking process. Communication is a key part of a successful ideation session, both clarifying what’s expected of participants and creating an environment in which all individuals have the chance to have their voices heard. For this reason, it’s a good idea to use a trained facilitator for your ideation session as they are well placed to remain objective and impartial, can keep up the energy of the group, ensure the session’s timeline is followed, and ensure a good outcome is achieved.
If you’d like to learn more about Design Thinking, ideation, or other design techniques and methodologies, head back to our blog for more articles like this one.
Next Steps
We hope this guide on personas in design thinking could help you with your design endeavors. In case you need further assistance, here are some resources you can consider:
- Watch this session by Shiva Viswanathan, Design Head of Ogilvy Pennywise, and Naman Singh, Product Experience Designer at RED.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our UI UX Design course, which is taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and comes with a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of our scholarship and funding options to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
